Safety and efficacy of salt substitution with a low sodium-potassium enriched dietary salt in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction: A pilot study.

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIMS:

Increased sodium intake is associated with increased risk of decompensation in patients with heart failure. This non-randomized, open-label, controlled study aimed to examine the feasibility, preliminary safety and efficacy of a low sodium-potassium enriched salt substitute compared to regular table salt in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFREF).

METHODS:

Fifty patients (68% male, NYHA I/II/III 6%/68%/26%, mean age 70 ± 9 years, LVEF 31 ± 5%, median BNP 112 pg/ml) were included. Of these, 30 patients received the salt substitute (maximum consumption of 2 g daily), who were prospectively compared to a control group of 20 age/sex/NYHA class-matched HFREF patients who consumed regular salt (maximum consumption of 2 g daily). Consumption of regular salt was prohibited in the salt substitution group. All patients were followed for 12 weeks.

RESULTS:

Patient groups did not differ by sex, age, LVEF, NYHA class, 6MWD, and BNP at baseline. In primary safety analysis, no significant differences were detected between groups regarding SBP (p = 0.052), DBP (p = 0.159), HR (p = 0.246), serum potassium (p = 0.579), serum sodium (p = 0.125), and eGFR (p = 0.710) throughout the 12 weeks. Secondary efficacy analysis revealed a statistically significant difference in 6MWD at 12 weeks between the salt substitute and regular salt groups after adjustment for baseline 6MWD (mean difference±SEM, 4.7 ± 2.1 m, F = 4.92, p = 0.031).

CONCLUSIONS:

In this pilot study, a low sodium-potassium enriched salt substitute was found to be safe compared to regular salt in HFREF patients, while it resulted in a small albeit significant improvement in exercise capacity, possibly justifying further investigation with randomized clinical studies.

• Authors: Vasiliki Bistola, Angelos Arfaras-Melainis, Efstratios Trogkanis, Georgios Bakosis, Eftihia Polyzogopoulou, Ioannis-Nektarios Karavidas, Ignatios Ikonomidis, John Parissis, Apostolos Karavidas
• Journal: Clinical nutrition ESPEN (Clin Nutr ESPEN) Vol. 35 Pg. 90-94 (02 2020) ISSN: 2405-4577 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 31987127 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2019 European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Chemical References

• Potassium, Dietary
• Sodium Chloride, Dietary
• Sodium
• Potassium

Topics

• Aged
• Diet, Sodium-Restricted
• Exercise
• Female
• Glomerular Filtration Rate
• Heart Failure (diet therapy)
• Humans
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Non-Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
• Pilot Projects
• Potassium (blood)
• Potassium, Dietary (administration & dosage, analysis)
• Prospective Studies
• Sodium (blood)
• Sodium Chloride, Dietary (administration & dosage, analysis)